Naim & Focal 10th Anniversary Edition

They look better when fitted with the sink plunger and whisk attachments.

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The tin-coloured speakers are certainly a nice attractive finish on that front, a good iteration.

Curious to see the actual 10th Anniversary system finish and colour in the flesh this part of the world if they ever arrive here, and my earlier sentiments / concerns here could well be unfounded.

What purpose would that really serve, for us customers? For me, Naim is Naim and Focal a separate sister entity. To combine both for branding purposes into a 2-in-1 doesn’t strengthen perceptions in any manner imho.

Lange is Lange, and Jaeger is Jaeger, both belonging to Richemont. We don’t see a fusing or combination of two entirely separate and established identities and they run independently and are marketed successfully as such. No one in the market audience need to be continually pummelled by “continual reminders” of the Focal - Naim alliance being part of their parent group. Everyone here is well aware.

They have been trying to promote both together in hi-fi shows, and from what I have heard myself and read of feedback, I think both could be used with other complementary system makes that really bring out the flavour of each. I’m sorry but so far, I have not been at all convinced they are necessarily the best match sonically, though they do exhibit some good sound when paired correctly together. I have nothing against Focal speakers; I just wish for more diverse pairings of Naim with other speaker makes at shows, and exhibitions other than just solely with Focal speakers, which seems really anaemic.

Which amplifiers has anyone heard, which bring out the best flavour in Focal speakers, apart from Naim?

Nice overall image… the components don’t look “off” here as they did in the earlier images posted on this thread. They still seem rather dull in this muted-guise. It’s funny because I love muted, and understatement, but it’s very subjective and personal now… I would like to see them upfront one day but do not think my initial reservations will change. And it doesn’t matter, because I’m not the target audience. Who is?

Aye. However they wouldn’t have been differentiated for a 10th Partnership Anniversary commemorative system which is what Naim were trying to do.

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The Ovators will be exterminated!

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Do you have any comparison experience?

Lange and Jaeger make the same type of product though, not complementary items.

But with this anniversary edition and the Focal/Naim stores it’s clear that they very much do want to sell as and are marketing as (lifestyle) “packages” and not independent components for mix and match systems. As you say both brands are strong so I can’t imagine them dropping either name, but I can imagine a consolidation.

You (and me) quite obviously wouldn’t be the target audience of such a move.

Regarding which amps. I quite liked the NAD / Focal combo I had before moving to Naim (with B&W).

I feel… some redemption for having like-minded inclinations…

Blasphemy. :sweat_smile:

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I guess you are not familiar with the BBC TV science fiction series Doctor Who. Its most fearsome and legendary villains are the Daleks, to whose travel machines the Focal Sopra N°2 loudspeaker bears an uncanny resemblance. The catchphrase of these villainous creatures was “You will be exterminated,” bellowed at any life form that was not a Dalek.

@Clive was alluding to the fact that the BBC props department used a sink plunger and a whisk in the construction of the Dalek travel machine.

So my comment was a joke about how Naim ceased production of the Ovator loudspeaker range shortly after the merger with Focal. But if it takes 2 paragraphs of text to explain a joke, maybe the joke isn’t very funny. :grinning:

Apparently, the Linn K9 cartridge was so named because in the early engineering drawings it resembled the character of that name from the same series.

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Friends of ours once had a Dalek in their house, somehow they ended up with it from the BBC. They terrified me as a child and it was most odd to see a real one some 40 years later. I thought you little comment was rather amusing, for what it’s worth.

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I bet they will look much better in the flesh but unless future upgrades are available ‘build to order’ in the same finish it seems an odd development.

I really can’t see the demographic this is aimed at other than people who are pretty comfortable financially and want a very good system package chosen for them, something they’d buy on a whim because they could afford it.

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Thanks. So can I have a like then? :rofl:

Unless you grew up in Britain at a particular time, you’re unlikely to get all the cultural allusions in my little joke. But I am guessing that the majority of the Naim Audio Community are part of that particular demographic.

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Probably one of the reasosn I loved that MM cartridge though did they turn it grey in later iterations as I found the yellow stylus much more funky.

I Think I was rather cynical about the K18.

Your wish is granted :wink:

There’s probably a dominatrix involved somewhere :rofl:

I think you can see the demographic. (And it seems it’s only 50 of those)

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Sounds like a recipe for spillage or is it considered a connoisseur’s skill?

Well, yes I’m being a little cynical. Possibly a marketing gamble - if it works great as it’s additional sales to support Naim/Focal, though on a purely Naim basis I think many of us are hoping for more traditionally focussed developments.

As I’ve said further up, it seems to me less like a gamble (though it probably is to an extend) and more like trying some things without much risk. They probably know they find takers, it’s an established line of products just with a different color (so no large investments), and they might get some feedback out of it regarding what people think about future color options.

It’s not putting the world on its head, but I don’t think it was meant to. I believe we can be pretty sure that more exciting things will happen.

The speaker cabinets look like they had some really bad production issues, with failed finishes, and some bright spark said “Hey, let’s market them as something special - I don’t know, an anniversary or something?”

Why do the speaker cabinets look like they had production issues?

(Even if, I wouldn’t have a problem with that if those that I buy look fine after reworking. Besides, things like that are probably not uncommon for special editions. If, say, a car manufacturer makes a special edition, they will also do it in a way that makes economic sense for them. E.g., add extras or use materials that they have in abundance and want to get rid of)

I too think they’re on to something with the dust disguising finish (there was a post a some way up the thread). My black boxes all seem to turn grey remarkably quickly after the rare occasions I clean them. Perhaps they could offer a matt finished grey glass and grey matt shelves finished for Fraim while they’re at it. Then instead of a duster you just need an effective static treatment for your records. A cationic surfactant works well unless there’s some residual anionc surfactant on them, the combination leaves a deposit that’s very hard to shift.

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